A Verb, meaning "to manipulate events totally and subtly, controlling both sides of an interaction to achieve one's own end."

Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars orchestrated the Clone Wars, the downfall of the Galactic Republic, Jedi Order, and Separatist Movement, and commanded complete control over the Galactic Empire and the Dark Side of the Force. He was the ultimate double agent, parading among his powerful enemies without suspicion. He appeared the benevolent elected leader while masterfully plotting the demise of everything god. Thus "to palpatine" means that one controls a situation completely and can bring about whatever results he desires without anyone being aware.

It can applied to trivial situations as well.
Fred: "Dude, did you hear Jeff and Andrea broke up?"
Winston: "Yeah, that was all Clara's doing. She manipulated their emotions and aggravated the conflict so that she could get with Jeff."
Fred: "She totally palpatined them!!"

Palpatine was the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed, yet his roots are extremely humble, traced back to the peaceful world of Naboo.

Before his rise to power, Palpatine was an unassuming yet ambitious Senator in the Galactic Republic. Palpatine saw the Republic crumbling about him, torn apart by partisan bickering and corruption. All too common were those unscrupulous Senators taking advantage of the system, growing fat and wealthy on a bureaucracy too slow to catch them.

Palpatine's moment of opportunity came as a result of a trade embargo. The Trade Federation, in protest of government measures that would tax their outlying trade routes, blockaded and invaded Naboo. Naboo's planetary leader, Queen Amidala, rushed to Coruscant for Palpatine's aid. Together, the two pleaded to the Senate for intervention, only to see their request stalemated by Trade Federation filibustering. Frustrated by the government's inability to do anything, Queen Amidala acted upon Palpatine's suggestion, and called for a Vote of No Confidence in the Republic's leadership.

Chancellor Valorum was voted out of office, and Palpatine was soon nominated to succeed him. The crisis on Naboo prompted a strong sympathy vote, and Palpatine became Chancellor. He promised to reunite the disaffected, and bring order and justice to the government.

Despite his promises, the Republic continued to be mired in strife and chaos. A decade after his nomination, Palpatine's Chancellery was faced with the challenge of a popular Separatist movement led by the charismatic leader, Count Dooku. Many in the galaxy feared that the conflict would escalate to full-scale warfare, but Palpatine was adamant that the crisis could be resolved by negotiation.

The Separatists didn't agree. Upon the discovery of a secret army of droids, it became apparent that the Separatists were on the verge of declaring war against the Republic. To counter this, the Republic needed a military, and Palpatine required the authority to activate the Republic's newly forged army of clones. To that end, Senators loyal to Palpatine motioned that the Chancellor be given emergency powers to deal with the Separatist threat.

With spoken regrets, Palpatine accepted the new mantle of power. He promised to return his absolute authority to the Senate after emergency subsided. What no one realized was that the galaxy would undergo further upheaval, and that a state of crisis would ensure Palpatine's authority for decades.

The indications of his future regime were subtle at first. Palpatine's term as Chancellor ended during the rise of the Separatists, but that crisis allowed him to extend his stay in office. Once the Clone Wars erupted, the Senate's inability to efficiently wage war on scattered fronts forced him to enact executive decree after executive decree. He added amendments to the constitution funneling more power to him, effectively circumventing the bureaucracy of the Senate.

The public and the Senate willingly gave up their rights and freedoms in the name of security. Under Palpatine's guidance, the war would be won, and the Republic would be safe. The monstrous specter of General Grievous leading an assault ensured that few questioned Palpatine's growing authority.

The Jedi Council was among the wary. As an instrument of the Senate and the people, the Jedi order resisted Palpatine's direct control. This tension grew as the war escalated. Some in the Senate also quietly whispered their misgiving. Palpatine knew of a delegation of concerned Senators, and he would deal with them in time.

Palpatine instituted a military build-up unprecedented in galactic history. He created the New Order, a Galactic Empire that ruled by tyranny. The Jedi Knights, his biggest threat, were extinguished by his greatest dark side pupil: Anakin Skywalker, who had become Darth Vader.

During the Galactic Civil War, Palpatine ruled with an iron fist. He disbanded the Imperial Senate, and passed control down to the regional governors and the military. During the Hoth campaign, Palpatine expressed to Vader his concerns over Luke Skywalker, a young Rebel powerful in the Force. Vader suggested that the two convert the youth to the dark side of the Force, an idea the Emperor seconded.

The Emperor was a scheming ruler, planning events far in the future, using the Force to foresee the results. Palpatine allowed Rebel spies to learn of the location of the second Death Star, and foresaw their strike team and fleet assault. Palpatine crafted an elaborate trap that was to be the end of the Rebellion. He also concentrated on converting Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, even at the expense of sacrificing Vader. In the Death Star, high above the Battle of Endor, Luke refused the Emperor's newfound dark side power, and so Palpatine used his deadly Force lightning to attack the young Jedi. Luke almost died in the assault, but his father, Darth Vader, returned to the light side of the Force, and hurled the Emperor into the Death Star's reactor core, killing him.

Palpatine was a gnarled, old man. An ancient-looking human, he had pale skin, and searing, sickly yellow eyes. He wore a heavy dark cloak, and carried a glossy black cane.

The single most powerful and adept force wielder of all time. Also known as Darth Sidious. As Emperor Palpatine, he ruled the Galaxy with an iron fist and murdered countless hundreds of Jedi. His complete and masterful repertoire of abilities includes every force power to date, plus extreme intellectual and tactical talent. Was the ONLY Sith to ever achieve total control of devastating space/time vortexes known as Force Storms. Darth Sidious was the last and final Sith Master, and was considered by many to be the Dark Side of the Force incarnate.

Palpatine is the single most malevolent and successful villain throughout all of fiction.

For some reason people misunderstand this character. He did not begin as a righteous senator, he was merely acting the part so that he could create an image that he could use to his benefit to gain real power. This misinterpretation of his intentions goes to show just what a great manipulator of people he is.

In reality, he is easily one of, if not THE greatest villain ever created. This sith lord knows what true power is. Along with being able to wield a lightsaber and using the awesome force storm ability(shooting lightning from his hands), he gained power through the use of politics and manipulation. He did not only improve his abilities, he also chose to gain powerful allies to use as he pleased. With this idea in mind he gained the support of the Galactic Senate and gained the (fairly) loyal service of another of the greatest villains(Darth Vader). Through these actions he created a barrier around him that was nearly impenetrable and he was able to single handedly rule the galaxy, wipe out nearly all of the jedi, and basically just impose his will upon the entire galaxy.

Normal villains such as Venom(Spider-man), the Terminator(The Terminator), Magneto(X-men), the Joker(Batman) and even Darth Vader are all a terror to those who fight for truth and justice, but none of them could outlaw truth and justice nor could they deceive the universe into thinking that they are fighting for truth and justice.

The character in any film who's clearly evil to any member of the audience, but who won't be recognized as such by the characters until it's far too late. A character may also "Palpatine" as a verb; this used to describe when the character reveals his evil nature.

The police chief in that flick was a total Palpatine. Why did no one ever realize he was evil?